CENTRALIA — A bat found in Centralia on private property has tested positive for rabies, according to the Lewis County Department of Public Health and Social Services, with only the man who found the bat and his dog known to have come in contact with the animal.

Humans are most often exposed to rabies when contact with an animal, such as a bite or scratch, breaks the skin. Saliva can spread the almost always fatal disease if it comes into contact with a person’s eye, nose, throat or an open wound. Simply touching an animal will not spread the disease.

For more information, visit wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/bats.